In Benue: Tiv Traditional Council Orders Herders to Vacate Lands by End of May

In a move to address the growing food security concerns in Benue State and across Nigeria, the Tiv Area Traditional Council has issued a directive for all herders operating within the Tiv Kingdom to vacate the region by the end of May 2025.

The directive followed an emergency meeting held at the Tor Tiv Palace in Gboko, Benue State. The meeting, presided over by the Tor Tiv, His Royal Majesty Orcivirigh Professor James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, CFR, brought together all graded traditional rulers in the Tiv Kingdom.

In a communiqué signed by the Council Secretary, Shinyi Tyozua, the council cited persistent attacks and killings of farmers by herders as a major disruption to agricultural activities in the area. This, they warned, has severely impacted farming, particularly in the Local Government Areas of Kwande, Katsina-Ala, Logo, Ukum, Guma, Makurdi, Gwer-West, Gwer-East, and Buruku.

The council raised alarm over the potential for widespread hunger and an intensifying food crisis if farming does not resume immediately. As a result, it appealed to herders to vacate Tiv lands to enable farmers to return to their fields and resume cultivation.

To ensure a peaceful process, the council called on both political and traditional leaders in the affected LGAs to engage the herders and facilitate their orderly departure. It also urged the government to provide the necessary support and create a conducive environment for the smooth execution of this directive.

With the planting season already underway, the council emphasized that urgent action is needed to restore agricultural productivity and safeguard food supply in the region.